Monthly Report

To: John Doan, City Administrator

From: Jon Weiks, Chief of Police

Date: March 15, 2023

Re: February 2023

Criminal Activity

2023-0309 Mental Health Crisis –

At approximately 2000 hours, officers were dispatched to a local apartment complex for a report of unknown trouble The reporting party notified Dispatch that he was in the laundry room and man was outside pointing a gun at him Dispatch notified responding officers that the reporting party was not making sense with the things he was reporting. Upon arrival, officers located the reporting party, who appeared to be in mental crisis based on their observations of his demeanor, actions and words The reporting party reported the man with a gun was unknown to him, but he had seen him before and he had been in a car pointing a gun at him. The reporting party did not know why the man would do that nor was he to provide a description or any identifying information for the man or the vehicle he was alleged to have been in When officers inquired about why the reporting party was in the laundry room, he reported he did not live there and was trying to stay warm and charge his phone. While talking to the reporting party, officers learned the he was also armed with a firearm. The firearm was discovered to be a CO2 pistol The reporting party denied removing the pistol from his bag when the man pointed a gun at him. Based on the reporting party appearing to be in mental crisis, he voluntarily agreed to turn the pistol over to the officers to be placed in safekeeping at the police department. The reporting party was provided a courtesy transport to a nearby bus stop Officers were unable to locate any witnesses or video surveillance that captured the reported incident Officers also did not observe any occupied vehicles or persons in the area when they arrived on scene The case was closed as leads exhausted.

2023-0316 Robbery 1st - At approximately 0433 hours, officers were dispatched to a report of a suspicious circumstance at a local convenience store/gas station. Then the store employee called and reported three males wearing masks and hoods were running around the store The employee also reported one of the males was armed with a gun. Prior to officers arriving, the suspects fled the scene in a small red car. When officers arrived and made contact with the employee he reported he had been robbed at gunpoint The employee reported the males entered the store and he was threatened by the male with the gun and he was ordered to hand over the cash from the register. The other suspects grabbed items from the store including cigars, alcohol, and hats. Other responding officers scoured the area and located the abandoned suspect vehicle nearby, still running and the doors left open. A K9 and his handler responded to the scene and conducted a track, but the track ended where it appeared the suspects may have fled in a waiting vehicle. The vehicle was impounded to be processed for latent prints and DNA evidence. The vehicle was determined to have been stolen earlier that morning in Pierce County. Officers collected video surveillance from the business to assist with identifying the suspects who were masked and not quickly identifiable. There have been two other robberies in Olympia and Tumwater within a twoweek period with similar circumstances and similarly dressed suspects The suspects are stealing Hyundai and Kia vehicles to drive to the robbery locations. They are then abandoning the vehicles nearby and fleeing in a different stolen Hyundai and/or Kia to leave the area undetected. At this time, this is still an active investigation.

2023-0354 Robbery 1st - At approximately 1058 hours, officers were dispatched to a report of a robbery with a gun involved at a convenience store/gas station . The reporting party reported three males wearing masks entered the business, walked behind the counter and waived a gun while stating it was a “robbery” The suspects stole the cash from the register, cigarettes, and other items in the store. The suspects then fled in a Hyundai. A witness captured a photo of the license plate and provided it to arriving officers, as well as notifying officers of the last known direction of travel Responding officers quickly located the vehicle abandoned in a nearby parking lot The vehicles was discovered to be stolen in Pierce County earlier in the day Officers also learned the vehicle was used by suspects in an attempted auto theft on the State Capitol campus prior to the robbery. The car was impounded to be processed for latent and DNA evidence by the WSP Crime Scene Response Team. Not long after the robbery, a report of a stolen Kia was reported by a citizen who resided within a block of where the Hyundai had been abandoned. It is believed the suspects stole the Kia to flee the scene to avoid being captured This is believed to the same crew in similar robberies that have occurred in Tumwater, Olympia, and Pierce County. The suspects involved were wearing masks, but one or more of the suspects are believed to have been involved in the other robberies based on clothing, stature and features. Detectives are making progress on i dentifying the responsible parties This is an active investigation.

Prescription Drug Drop Box

The public deposited 90 pounds of prescription drugs in February and a total of 135 pounds for the year.

Budget

At the end of the month, the police department budget is 13% spent for the year.

K-9 STATISTICS

Officer Mize & K9 James had 4 deployments this month:

• Two Narcotic Deployments o Assisted a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputy with a free-air sniff of a vehicle that had been impounded earlier in the day. Officer Mize responded to the TCSO impound lot and deployed K9 James around the exterior of the vehicle K9 James was given a sniff command and upon approaching the driver’s door he provided an alert to the presence of narcotic odor K9 James continued around the vehicle and again provided an alert at the passenger side door Officer Mize then completed and provided the deputy a probable cause statement in support of a search warrant application Officer Mize and K9 James secured from the scene The following day the deputy reported back to Officer Mize they had obtained a search warrant and recovered 83.9 grams of methamphetamine from inside the vehicle. o Assisted Thurston County Narcotics detectives with a free-air sniff of a vehicle they had stopped and taken the driver into custody for prior narcotics distribution related charges. Officer Mize responded to the scene and deployed K9 James around the exterior of the vehicle K9 James was given a sniff command and upon approaching the driver’s door he provided an alert to the presence of narcotic odor K9 James also provided an alert at the trunk of the vehicle and again at the passenger door Officer Mize then completed and provided the detectives a probable cause statement in support of a search warrant application Officer Mize and K9 James secured from the scene. The detectives have not reported back any results to Officer Mize.

• Tracking Deployment

o Responded with other Tumwater officers to a robbery that had just occurred at a local gas station Officer Mize was approaching the scene when he was advised of a witness report of a possible suspect vehicle nearby Officer Mize responded to that area and located the suspect vehicle stopped in the parking lot of a closed business. The vehicle was running and the back doors were open Multiple other officers responded to this location and the vehicle was found to be unoccupied. Officer Mize then deployed K9 James at the vehicle and provided several K9 warning/surrender announcements The announcements went unanswered and K9 James was given a track command K9 James was able to acquire the suspects’ scent and began pulling hard on his leash as he tracked the suspects away from the vehicle K9 James tracked the suspects a couple of blocks to a nearby intersection, where K9 James showed signs he was no longer on a strong track. The suspects were believed to have driven away from this location in another vehicle K9 James was taken back to the abandoned suspect vehicle (later determined to be a stolen vehicle) to conduct an evidence search. The search did not result in the recovery of any evidence.

• Confirmation Track/Evidence Search Deployment o Assisted the Olympia Police Department with a confirmation/evidence search as a result of a robbery from a West Olympia convenience store Officer Mize had responded to the store to assist with tracking the suspect who had fled the scene, but was originally unable to deploy K9 James when he learned the suspect was believed to be a juvenile However, while still on scene an OPD officer notified they had located and detained a suspect nearby As such, Officer Mize deployed K9 James to do confirmation track and to attempt to locate any evidence along the track K9 James was taken to a jacket left at the scene to obtain the suspect’s scent K9 James was then given a track command and led Officer Mize directly to where the suspect was detained by the OPD officer About 20 feet prior to the OPD officer’s vehicle K9 James provided an alert to an item under a tree An OPD officer recovered a stolen bottle of wine taken during the robbery.

Officer Grimmett & K9 Thor had one deployment this month:

• Building Search Deployment o Assisted the Lacey Police Department with attempting to locate an Assault 2nd degree –Domestic Violence and Residential Burglary – Domestic Violence in violation of a protection order suspect believed to be hiding in an apartment. Upon arrival at the scene, a contact team was assembled, with Officer Grimmett deploying K9 Thor in the l ead position The contact team approached the front door of the apartment and several surrender announcements were made without a response K9 Thor was then given a search command and entered the apartment K9 Thor led officers to a locked bedroom door, where further surrender orders were provided without a response. The bedroom door was forced open, but the suspect was not located inside Officer Grimmett removed K9 Thor from inside the apartment while the other officers completed a secondary search of the apartment. The suspect was located hiding in a hallway closet under a pile of clothing and was taken into custody without incident.